Access for Refugees

ZHdK makes offers available to facilitate access to the university for refugee art students. 

ZHdK considers maintaining relations with refugees living in Switzerland both an obligation and an opportunity. For this reason, it facilitates access to individual programmes for refugee students and in some cases artists. Offerings are aimed primarily at persons who have begun a corresponding course of studies in their home countries.
Via the programme “access for refugees”, the students can familiarize themselves with the requirements and content of a ZHdK degree programme andattend ZHdK courses free of charge for one semester. Obtaining a diploma is not possible through this programme. However, the students can apply for the regular entrance examination.

Plakat «My Last Treasures», Digital collage, 2019, Natalia Poveda Sierra | https://nataliasierrapoveda.wixsite.com/nataliasierra

  • To apply for a place for a trial semester, the following criteria have to be met:

    • The applicant has been granted with refugee status (B (Refugee), F, N, S) and is located in Switzerland.
    • The applicant has to demonstrate sufficient experience in the respective area of study (this will be assessed by means of the portfolio). 

    Applications can be accepted on an ongoing basis.

    The decision for admission for a trial semester is made in the departments. Departmental capacity, candidates’ background and their prospects on the labour market will be considered in the allocation of places on degree programmes.

    Tuition fees are waived. ZHdK does not offer a scholarship, but students can contact the student advisory service after admission for information regarding financial support options.

    Students will not receive a “Transcript of Records” at the end of the semester. There is possibility to apply for max. one additional guest semester or to take the regular entrance examination.


    Application procedure
    Applicants: please send an e-mail with the following information and attachments:
    •    Indicate level of study (BA/MA) and degree programme (an overview of the degree programmes at the ZHdK can be found here)
    •    A copy of the passport;
    •    Proof of residency status;
    •    Curriculum vitae;
    •    This completed PDF form;
    •    Portfolio/selection of work samples

  • In order to apply for a place as a guest student, applicants must:

    • Be currently located in Switzerland and have a refugee status B (refugee), F, N, S);
    • Provide proof of enrolment (e. g. certificates, “Transcript of Records” (ToR), grades, etc.) at an Arts/Design/Music University

    In order to study as a guest student, all clarifications must be made before the semester starts. Students who enter the programme during the semester can only do a trial semester (see below).

    The decision for admission as a guest student is made in the departments. Departmental capacity, candidates’ background and their prospects on the labour market will be considered in the allocation of places on degree programmes.

    Tuition fees are waived. ZHdK does not offer a scholarship, but students can contact the student advisory service after admission for information on financial aid options.

    At the end of the semester, a “Transcript of Records” (ToR) will be issued listing all courses taken with corresponding grades and ECTS. The ToR entitles students to have the ECTS points they have earned checked for credit at another university, or when starting a regular course of study at the ZHdK.

    Students have the option to apply for a maximum of one additional guest semester or to take the regular entrance examination.

    Application procedure
    Applicants: please send an e-mail with the following information and attachments:

    • Indicate level of study (BA/MA) and degree programme (an overview of the degree programmes at the ZHdK can be found here)
    • Copy of the passport;
    • Proof of residency status;
    • Curriculum vitae;
    • This completed PDF form;
    • Proof of studies started at art/music school (e. g. copy of the following documents: student ID, “Transcript of Records” (ToR), diploma, grades);
    • Portfolio/selection of work samples

    Applications for the fall semester must be submitted no later than 1st June.
    For the spring semester, applications must be submitted no later than 1st December.

  • Refugees who are interested in a regular study programme at the ZHdK may apply with the usual documents through the regular admission procedure in the different departments.

    Interested refugees are welcome to obtain information at the "Access for Refugees" Contact Point​​​​​​​.

  • Scholars at Risk is an international network of institutions and individuals whose mission is to protect threatened researchers and promote academic freedom and other values of higher education around the world.

    ZHdK has been a member of Scholars at Risk, a network that boasts more than 500 other member institutions worldwide, since 2020.

    Lecturers and researchers who are considered under threat by SAR or arrive in Switzerland as refugees can be hosted by ZHdK in order to maintain contact with the academic world during their exile – provided the conditions of the funding are appropriate for both parties.

    ZHdK is also a member of the Scholars at Risk Switzerland Section, which was established in 2017.

    • Portrait: Scientist rebuilds Ukraine from Geneva. Like many other scientists, Iryna Sotnyk found asylum in Switzerland thanks to an academic scholarship.
      → To the “La Liberté” article from 26.02.2024.
    • For the first time ever, the Kyiv Design Week is taking place – not in Kiev, but as part of the “Zürcher Designwochen” (Zurich Design Weeks). Co-initiator Anastasiia Biletska talks about Ukrainian design and the background that led to the Kyiv Design Week in Zurich. Anastasiia is attending the Master “Curatorial Studies” at ZHdK.
      → To the article by "Hochparterre" from 18.09.2023.
    • Anna Bila (23) had concrete plans for her artistic future in Kiev – but the war destroyed her dreams. One and a half years later, she is dancing in her own studio in Oerlikon. Anna is a student in ZHdK's MA Transdisciplinary Studies and fled Ukraine.
      → To the “20 Minuten” article from 11.09.2023.
    • The Ukrainian pianist Kateryna Tereshchenko studied in Kiev and Zurich and works as a répétiteur at the ZHdK. Together with 20 other musicians from Ukraine, Switzerland and Russia, she is performing at a benefit concert in Schaffhausen. In the interview, she talks about how close the war in her home country is to her and how she finds comfort in music.
      → To the article on SRF from 05.05.2022.
       
    • The Museum für Gestaltung Zurich has had the peace poster “[no text] Peace between Nations” from 1965 by the graphic artist and illustrator Henryk Tomaszewski (1914-2005) printed in a limited edition. All proceeds from the reproduction will go to Solidar Suisse. The poster will be sold for CHF 70.00 in the shops on Ausstellungsstrasse and in the Toni-Areal as well as in the eShop.
       
    • Swiss Universities of the Arts help students from Ukraine. Florence Balthasar, Head of International Affairs at the ZHdK, talks to SRF's Vanda Dürring about her experiences with those seeking protection.
      → To the article on SRF from 01.04.2022.

  • Contact point “Access for Refugees”
    Iris Meili
    Tel. +41 43 446 20 78

    Zurich University of the Arts
    Toni-Areal, Pfingstweidstrasse 96
    P.O. Box
    CH-8031 Zurich